How to sell books, games and DVDs in the UK
Shelves of books and boxes of games are some of the easiest things to sell, because they are already labelled. The question is whether to take a quick trade-in price or list them yourself.
Two ways to sell
Trade-in sites (the ones where you scan or type a barcode and get an instant offer) are fast: scan, box everything up, send it for free, get paid. The catch is price: they need to resell at a profit, so offers are low, and many items get no offer at all.
Listing them yourself on eBay, Vinted or Facebook Marketplace usually gets you more per item, sometimes much more for sought-after titles, but each one needs a listing and a trip to the post office.
A sensible mix: check the trade-in offer first. Take it for the items worth pennies, and list the ones that are clearly worth more.
What is worth listing yourself
- Recent video games and anything for current consoles.
- Retro games, especially complete in box with the manual.
- Collectable or signed books, first editions, and out-of-print titles.
- Textbooks and professional books (these often hold value well).
- Box sets and collector's editions of films and TV.
- Series of children's books sold together.
Mass-market paperbacks, common DVDs and older sports games are usually worth more bundled or traded in.
Pricing
Search eBay for the title and tick Sold items to see what copies in similar condition have gone for. The ISBN or barcode is the quickest way to find the exact edition. Condition matters: for games, whether the disc is scratched and whether it is complete; for books, the spine, cover and any writing inside.
Bundles and postage
Bundles turn low-value items into one worthwhile sale: "10 Julia Donaldson picture books" or "PS4 football games bundle" are things people search for. They also save you postage and packing time.
Books are heavy for their value, so weigh them before you set postage. Large letter and small parcel sizes cover most single books and games; a padded envelope or a bit of cardboard stops corners getting damaged.
Scan the barcode in Snappy
Snappy can scan the barcode with your phone camera, look up the title and details, and then write the listing around it, so a shelf of books becomes a morning's listings instead of a week of typing. For a bundle, photograph the whole pile and Snappy writes one listing for the lot.
A shelf of books, listed in a morning
Scan the barcode, and Snappy fills in the title and details, then writes the listing. Try it with 3 free listings.
Try Snappy free → 3 free listings · no card neededFAQ
For quick, low-effort sales, trade-in sites. For better prices on valuable or collectable titles, eBay. Children's book bundles do well on Vinted and Facebook Marketplace.
Individually, most common DVDs are worth very little. Box sets, collector's editions and bundles are the exceptions worth listing.
Use the ISBN on the back of a book or the barcode on a game or DVD. Searching it brings up the exact edition.
Yes, if you have the box and manual. Complete copies, especially of older games, often sell for noticeably more than the disc or cartridge alone.